SATS, SF Group sign MoU for global expansion

Singapore-headquartered SATS has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SF Group, the leading express delivery and logistics service provider in China and globally, to expand their strategic collaboration and supply chain optimisation into a global footprint.

The agreement was formally signed at SF Group’s headquarters in Shenzhen by Zhang Ji, Vice President, SF Group and Bob Chi, CEO, Gateway Services, Asia-Pacific, SATS, says an official release from SATS.

Chi will also jointly lead the steering committee overseeing regional or country-level working groups conducting strategic projects under the agreement, the release added.

"SATS and SF Group will combine their respective areas of expertise and service offerings as well as those of their affiliate companies, including Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a member of the SATS Group, and SF Airlines, the Chinese cargo airline owned by SF Group."

SATS and SF Group will initially look at expanding the collaboration of the existing hub operations in Singapore and e-commerce handling in Liege, Belgium to other global hubs. "These include the hub operations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and exploring proof of concepts (PoCs) for e-commerce handling in Beijing and New York’s JFK International Airport. The partners will also identify and build other network solutions or specialised services from more than 200 locations where SATS is present with SF Group’s extensive demand channels, which is currently the world’s 4th largest integrated logistic provider and is based in China."

Chi says: "“We are honoured that SF Group has chosen to partner with SATS to identify new network expansion opportunities and service improvements globally. Our organisations can learn a lot from each other as we embrace our collaboration and go beyond the traditional customer-vendor relationship. This is a mutually beneficial partnership where both parties are leveraging each other’s strengths to improve the supply chain and create value for our respective stakeholders. We are confident of building on the successes that we have today to expand into a multi-station global network collaboration."

Ji adds: “As China's largest and the world's fourth largest integrated logistics service provider, SF Group is actively promoting its overseas growth strategy. The collaboration with SATS Group, which is one of the world's largest aviation ground service providers, with continuous growth of its worldwide network in the field of aviation logistics, will enhance the competitiveness of both parties and achieve a win-win situation."